HOK, Design Firm, Opens New Office in Philadelphia

by Steve Lubetkin, Globest.com
HOK, a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm, is opening a new office in Center City Philadelphia.

Located in One Logan Square, HOK’s office is focusing on the planning and design of projects in the region’s healthcare, higher education, science and technology, aviation and transportation, sports, hospitality, corporate, and commercial mixed-use markets.

“We are thrilled to welcome HOK, a design leader in so many building types worldwide and one of the profession’s most-respected firms, to Philadelphia’s business community,” says Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. “This is yet another example of a high-profile company choosing Philadelphia because its leaders recognize that it’s a wonderful city in which to live, work and to build a business.”

“Establishing an office in Philadelphia is part of our strategic plan for moving closer to clients in the Northeast Corridor and being integrated into the communities we serve,” said Carl Galioto, FAIA, HOK’s managing principal for the Northeast region. “Our expertise-based practice and culture align perfectly with this market. We have long admired Philadelphia’s rich urban environment and for having so much dynamic activity in education, science and business. With well-established Philadelphia design professionals such as Stephen Beacham joining us, we are pleased to be part of this fabric.”

HOK’s new office is located on the 15th floor of the One Logan Square building in Philadelphia’s Central Business District. The reception area, meeting spaces and spacious design studio overlook Logan Circle, the Barnes Foundation building, the Academy of Natural Sciences and the Franklin Institute.

HOK has designed the space to promote design excellence, innovation, sustainability and collaboration. With a focus on creating a healthy and productive workplace, the team expects the office to achieve LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Award-winning local artist Isaiah Zagar, whose signature glass mosaic murals appear throughout the streets of Philadelphia,has linked HOK’s new workplace to the city by creating a 150-square-foot mosaic in the office’s reception area.

HOK’s Philadelphia office will provide services on current projects including the Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Building on Pennsylvania State University’s University Park campus in State College,Pa., and ongoing design services for Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden in Camden, NJ. Previous projects in the region have included the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro Replacement Hospital in Plainsboro, NJ, the New Jersey Public Health, Environmental and Agricultural Laboratory in West Trenton, NJ, Metro Bank Park Renovation in Harrisburg, PA, and The Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton, PA.    

The opening of the Philadelphia office continues HOK’s recent growth. In January, the firm finalized the acquisition of 360 Architecture, adding 200 employees and new offices in Kansas City and Columbus, OH, while enabling HOK to launch a global Sports + Recreation + Entertainment practice.
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